Introduction
While I've managed to keep things to single-week entries for a fair while now, I suspect it'll be back to double-weekers for at least next week. I'm off to New York for 8 days, y'see (also explaining why this entry is ever so slightly earlier than usual), and my film watching is likely to be minimal. Though there's a cinema right near the apartment, so you never know. Maybe I'll finally see The Bourne Ultimatum...
By-the-by, those musings I mentioned back in Week 34 (about the IMDb Top 250) have completely gone from my mind. I have absolutely no idea what they were. And so now neither will you. Ho hum...
Week Thirty-Six
This week is an unusually short one. Normally I'd just carry it over into the next entry, but one very important thing stops me...
I've reached 100!
Hurrah! And, as predicted, I'm there well before the end of the year! In fact, there's only just shy of a third of it left, meaning that my average viewing has me hitting 145 by year's end. Quite a bit more than 100, clearly. Of course, the spacious summer weeks are now giving way to term time work, so quite how well that whole average thing will work out is another matter entirely.
But, for now -- 100! Whoo! And I specially picked a pretty momentous film to view in celebration of the achievement. In film terms, you'd struggle to find any more significant than... well, read on, and you'll see!
99) Starter For Ten (2006, Tom Vaughan, DVD) 2/5
A predictable British rom-com, enlivened only by a few good moments and performances, as well as the excellent '80s soundtrack. You'd assume the plot would focus on the characters' aim to win University Challenge, coupled with a woefully predictable romantic subplot; sadly, it turns out the woefully predictable romance is the main plot and the quiz only turns up now and then to lend some structure. The final contest is almost entirely devoid of tension thanks to this and the other conclusions hold no surprises. McAvoy is likable, though held back by Brian's near-unbearable ignorance about life. The best performances come from Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall, both actors worth watching.
100) Citizen Kane (1941, Orson Welles, DVD) 5/5
Yes, that's right: I'm a film buff and I've never seen Citizen Kane. I think this is a good occasion to have saved it for though. But I digress -- what of the film itself; the film often voted Best Ever in countless polls? Certainly, a lot of its fame rests on its innovations -- the frequently ambitious camera work, the non-linear narrative, the multiple perspectives, the 'trick' beginnings, the dramatic lighting, the expansive sets... Not all of these are truly new (European art cinema and silent movies generally got to some first), but Welles can be credited for bringing some of it to the Hollywood mainstream; and even then, there's enough truly new to justify the praise. A lot of it may be commonplace now, or at least widely imitated, but viewed in light of the limitations of the time it is frequently breathtaking. It isn't just technically marvellous though: the story is moderately complex, telling and re-telling itself from various perspectives, framing recollections of Kane's life within a 'present day' quest to find the meaning behind his final words. The jumps demand the viewer's attention even today, the full story slowly coming together... even though it's almost all given to you in a 10-minute fake newsreel at the start! Welles' performance is exceptional, depicting Kane as he grows from a young reckless newspaper editor into an aged recluse. He's aided by effective make-up (looking remarkably like Welles himself would later in life), but its his performance from under it that shows the real differences. There's a lot more to be said about Kane (much of it already has, of course), and you don't need me to tell you that if you're a film fan this is required viewing. But even if you're a 'Normal Person' I'd recommend it; I can't guarantee you'll like it, but you might well be surprised.
Sunday 9 September 2007
Tuesday 4 September 2007
Week 35
Introduction
As you may remember from last week, this is technically Week 34 Days 5-7 and Week 35; and I bet no one would've remembered if I hadn't said! For a 10-day week I haven't watched a great deal of films, though (as explained last week) there have been reasons. Nonetheless, the four I have watched leave me only two short of the long awaited number 100!
Week Thirty-Five
But that's for next week. So, here are those four films, each from a different decade, across almost 60 years no less!
95) Before Sunrise (1995, Richard Linklater, DVD) 4/5
Two 20-somethings meet on a train from Budapest to Paris, get off in Vienna and spend the night there until one of them has to fly out in the morning. A simple premise, though you may wonder how it sustains 95 minutes. The answer is, very well. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy make for a likable couple and it's no chore to spend so long with, essentially, just them chatting to each other. Some of the attempts at philosophising may wear thin (Delpy especially seems more adept in the lighter parts), but the funny and romantic sections do work beautifully. Bittersweet in all the right ways. Probably best watched while still fairly young.
96) Before Sunset (2005, Richard Linklater, DVD) 4/5
Nine years on, Jesse and Celine meet again in Paris... It's as simple a premise as Sunrise, and in many ways is very similar: it's essentially two people talking, laughing and philosophising. It's an odd sort of sequel -- it doesn't just take the same characters into a new story, or directly continue the original. These are the same people, but they're older and changed. It's very reflective; it's almost about the first film, from a different perspective. You also don't miss a thing -- its in real time from beginning to end, showing us every second the characters spend together. Personally I didn't think it was as good as Sunrise -- it's not as funny and it sadly closes off some of the original's beautiful ambiguities. Part of the problem may be that I'm close to the character's ages in the first film but a good decade out here (though, I hasten to add, that's not solely it). In the end, it works quite nicely as a companion piece, but (perhaps) not as a film in its own right.
97) A Study in Scarlet (1983, Ian Mackenzie & Alex Nicholas, DVD) 2/5
Peter O'Toole is again the voice of the famous sleuth in this disappointing animated adaptation of the first Sherlock Holmes mystery. The adaptation is faithful to the original novel's structure (sadly, as its a somewhat bizarre one, and ripe for a more interesting interpretation), but loses any elements pertaining to Holmes and Watson's first meeting. The animation seems more basic than the other entry in this particular series that I've seen, and O'Toole's performance is flatter; the rest of the cast don't fair any better. The story itself isn't a bad one, but after being pleasantly surprised by The Sign of Four I just found this to be disappointing.
98) Great Expectations (1946, David Lean, DVD) 4/5
Classic adaptation of the acclaimed novel. While my experience of Dickens is woefully limited to screen adaptations, this is one of my lesser favourites; the first act and elements of the climax are wonderfully Gothic (and here beautifully directed to that effect), but it seems to lack the depth or importance of works such as Bleak House, Oliver Twist or A Christmas Carol. Though, aside from the dully straightforward middle, there's little to dislike about the adaptation. John Mills is too old to convince as a 20-year-old Pip, but his performance is good and he's ably supported. However, the main highlights are undoubtedly all in Lean's brilliant direction.
As you may remember from last week, this is technically Week 34 Days 5-7 and Week 35; and I bet no one would've remembered if I hadn't said! For a 10-day week I haven't watched a great deal of films, though (as explained last week) there have been reasons. Nonetheless, the four I have watched leave me only two short of the long awaited number 100!
Week Thirty-Five
But that's for next week. So, here are those four films, each from a different decade, across almost 60 years no less!
95) Before Sunrise (1995, Richard Linklater, DVD) 4/5
Two 20-somethings meet on a train from Budapest to Paris, get off in Vienna and spend the night there until one of them has to fly out in the morning. A simple premise, though you may wonder how it sustains 95 minutes. The answer is, very well. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy make for a likable couple and it's no chore to spend so long with, essentially, just them chatting to each other. Some of the attempts at philosophising may wear thin (Delpy especially seems more adept in the lighter parts), but the funny and romantic sections do work beautifully. Bittersweet in all the right ways. Probably best watched while still fairly young.
96) Before Sunset (2005, Richard Linklater, DVD) 4/5
Nine years on, Jesse and Celine meet again in Paris... It's as simple a premise as Sunrise, and in many ways is very similar: it's essentially two people talking, laughing and philosophising. It's an odd sort of sequel -- it doesn't just take the same characters into a new story, or directly continue the original. These are the same people, but they're older and changed. It's very reflective; it's almost about the first film, from a different perspective. You also don't miss a thing -- its in real time from beginning to end, showing us every second the characters spend together. Personally I didn't think it was as good as Sunrise -- it's not as funny and it sadly closes off some of the original's beautiful ambiguities. Part of the problem may be that I'm close to the character's ages in the first film but a good decade out here (though, I hasten to add, that's not solely it). In the end, it works quite nicely as a companion piece, but (perhaps) not as a film in its own right.
97) A Study in Scarlet (1983, Ian Mackenzie & Alex Nicholas, DVD) 2/5
Peter O'Toole is again the voice of the famous sleuth in this disappointing animated adaptation of the first Sherlock Holmes mystery. The adaptation is faithful to the original novel's structure (sadly, as its a somewhat bizarre one, and ripe for a more interesting interpretation), but loses any elements pertaining to Holmes and Watson's first meeting. The animation seems more basic than the other entry in this particular series that I've seen, and O'Toole's performance is flatter; the rest of the cast don't fair any better. The story itself isn't a bad one, but after being pleasantly surprised by The Sign of Four I just found this to be disappointing.
98) Great Expectations (1946, David Lean, DVD) 4/5
Classic adaptation of the acclaimed novel. While my experience of Dickens is woefully limited to screen adaptations, this is one of my lesser favourites; the first act and elements of the climax are wonderfully Gothic (and here beautifully directed to that effect), but it seems to lack the depth or importance of works such as Bleak House, Oliver Twist or A Christmas Carol. Though, aside from the dully straightforward middle, there's little to dislike about the adaptation. John Mills is too old to convince as a 20-year-old Pip, but his performance is good and he's ably supported. However, the main highlights are undoubtedly all in Lean's brilliant direction.
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